Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs A boy and a setter.........

This dog we've been working with is quite the hunter already. He is almost five months old and I am so pleased with how far he has progressed.

I've put little if any pressure on him at this point but tried to teach him covertly. He loves the gun and the truck. Kennel has become a comfortable place. He keeps track of me and loosely quarters (redirects) when I whistle softly to him. He doesn't know any formal commands although come and heel are being worked on. He has natural talent and has pointed a handful of birds at this point. Surprisingly he has retrieved almost all of them. What a bonus!

I'm picking my hunting spots and partners with ideal training setup in mind. Trying to keep things calm and positive. I made a mistake last weekend and unknowingly put him on too many wild running birds (50+) in too open of any area (dry land stubble). He overloaded with all the scent and flying birds and simply went wild with me unable to control him. I told my party to go along without me and gathered him up and had a pleasant walk back to the truck. My bad.

My questions are how would you guys approach the remainder of the season? My gut tells me to keep it simple and fun with no pressure. Jeez he's already pointed and retrieved five or six roosters for me. Or do I consider collar conditioning and lean on him a bit? I've always been impatient with pointing dogs now that I look back with hindsight. Coming from a lab background I didn't understand the maturity/development differences. Meanwhile am I missing opportunities?

Please give me your thoughts and experience.

Thanks,

Scott